Pregnant Pauses
by LoraLee2
Summary: A series of one-shots covering the length of JJ's pregnancy through Henry's early childhood. Marked complete, but new chapters will be added as the mood strikes.
1. Reasonable Purchases

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers, I do not own any CM characters, I'm just borrowing them and will return them in the same condition as I found them.

Yes, this one is also included in Thoughts, Talks and Other One Shots, but I couldn't possibly not include it in Pregnant Pauses; could I?

REASONABLE PURCHASES

"JJ, you couldn't wait till we got back to D.C. to get this stuff?"

Morgan and Rossi were pushing the large carton, while Will pulled from above. Reid, after stepping on Morgan's foot (the second time) had been banished to a safe fifteen feet away from the bottom of the plane's retracting stairs, while Hotch, recovering from his injuries, but still not up to snuff, was already safely ensconced aboard the plane.

"Oh, come on, Sweet Stuff, you know New York has the best stores." Garcia stood a few feet in front of Reid, holding three suit jackets, which had been shed after the first carton had been carried up the stairs.

Morgan would have sworn he heard a chuckle from Rossi at his mumbled response, which he'd never let his Baby Girl actually hear.

"Come on, Morgan, if you'd quit yapping and push, we'd be on the plane already."

Prentiss wasn't guarded by his protective instincts, "Yeah, let's see you haul a couple of these boxes around."

"Sure. Once you three get out of the way, I'll bring the lamps up."

If he'd had a hand free he would have responded in sign language, but as this was the largest (and heaviest) of the boxes, he didn't dare.

Morgan didn't know it, but that was a good thing. JJ stood quietly next to Garcia with her arms folded over her abdomen in what seemed to be their new home. She had hoped that being a tough, no-nonsense FBI agent would save her from the mood swings she had seen plague her aunts and cousins:

She had managed not to burst into tears when Will had shown up in New York and announced that he'd asked her to marry him (the big sneak).

She had misted a little when she opened the package containing his badge and unspoken offer/statement of intention? to quit his job to be with her and the baby (God, the guy must really love her to put up with her stubbornness and insecurities).

She'd shed a few tears when she'd returned to her hotel room (which Hotch was turning a blind eye to the fact that she was sharing with Will, strictly against regulations) and was met by dozens of photos of baby furniture displayed on a laptop he had borrowed from Garcia. He must have spent hours shopping while she was working. He'd taken pictures of everything he'd liked, and from the looks on his face, several things he didn't. Disney characters, little Noah's Ark animals, circus motifs, teddy bears, angels, sports. When she'd seen this set she'd fallen in love instantly.

But if Morgan made one more complaint about getting her baby's dresser onto the plane, she just might lose it altogether, sit on the tarmac and bawl her eyes out. Maybe she should have been a little more forthcoming when she'd said she needed to pick up a few things on the way to the airport. But really it was only a few things. Just the crib, the changing table and the dresser. And of course, she'd needed the matching rocker/glider and ottoman, it was a set. Then it had just seemed wrong not to get the lamp tables to go next to the chair and the crib, she'd need them anyway. And the two lamps weren't big _**or**_ heavy.

Will looked over at JJ, Cajuns tended to have large families, so he'd been around more than his fair share of pregnant women, and he recognized the look on JJ's face, "Morgan," he mumbled just loud enough to be heard at the other end of the box he was lifting, "you know I like ya an' all, but if you make JJ cry, I'm gonna be obligated to do somethin' about it. We don't either of us want that. So, why don't you stop yappin' and push?"

"You know, LaMontagne, this is all your fault. First you get JJ pregnant, then you _**go shopping**_ for her. And now, I'm the bad guy."

"Morgan, I am an uncle six times over, and speaking from experience, you do not want to get on the wrong side of JJ's hormones. You have to work with her until she goes on maternity leave, when it's your turn to pick up lunch and she wants a salmon burrito you will talk the deli into fixing her a salmon burrito." Rossi hissed his words as he shoved the box even harder, the extra impetus, being enough to get the box onto the plane.

"When she shows you the sonogram pictures, you will look at the little black and white lima bean and exclaim about how cute it is, and that you can see the little fingers and toes, then you'll ask if the doctor said whether it was a boy or girl. And when she hears a noise in the middle of the night and calls you because Will isn't there, you will go, you will check all the closets and under the bed and in the backyard.

"And under no circumstances are you to criticize any request or decision she makes for the next nine months."

"Six, she said she's already three months along."

"No, Morgan, nine - postpartum depression."

"Shit. I really am going to have to kill you, LaMontagne."

Rossi guided the dresser to the left side of the plane over the wings, where its weight would be balanced out against the other items on the right side. "Not until after JJ's hormones stabilize. Trust me, it wouldn't be worth it to do it now."

Morgan looked to the door of the plane and nodded, remembering the hourly phone calls Hotch had received while Haley was pregnant. "Don't mess with the pregnant lady, got it."

Rossi went up front to talk to the pilots and have them come back to check the weight distribution of JJ's purchases before take-off. Luckily Tom and Jake were flying this time around, they were much better natured than Mike and Eddy.

Tom and Jake came back and were just finishing tightening a length of cargo strapping down over the crib when Emily and Garcia entered the passenger cabin each carrying a boxed lamp, JJ following, and Reid bringing up the rear carrying their jackets. Jake stood up and dusted off his hands, "That should do it. It's a good thing you called ahead about loading some extra fuel, but I have to say I'm kinda surprised, none of you has ever brought half this much stuff back with you before. Not to mention the extra passenger."

Rossi heard JJ sniffle and spun around, panicked. He'd already labeled Will a consultant on the case in order to let him fly back with the team, but hadn't had time to figure out how to justify the extra weight of the baby furniture.

"Actually," Reid, ever ready with random information, spouted, "All the regulations state is that agents are allowed to transport reasonable purchases on return flights."

"I'm pregnant," JJ sniffed again, "Baby furniture is a reasonable purchase."


	2. Oh, Henry

This plot bunny was sicced on me by Ann Parker, a/k/a AngelNinjaGirl

Oh, Henry

"Now, you're sure you don't mind doing this? I wouldn't ask, but JJ really needs a break."

"Not at all." Reid held the sleeping baby while Will fought to get the portable crib out of the back of the SUV. "I mean, he doesn't even crawl yet, how much trouble can he be?"

Will looked a little askance at the theory that just because Henry couldn't escape he couldn't be hard to handle, but JJ had been assuring him that Reid was going to be a wonderful Godfather, he'd been over to the house to see JJ and the baby almost every day that they weren't out of town on a case, and he'd practically jumped at the chance to take care of little Henry when asked.

And JJ really needed a break, six weeks home from the hospital and she hadn't left the house except to go to the regular doctor's appointments for her and Henry - which was where she was now, and how he had managed to sneak Henry over to Reid's apartment without JJ having a panic attack.

After struggling to set the crib up in the corner of Reid's living room he watched Henry's Godfather lay the baby down and lay a small blanket over him. Will pulled several bottles out of Henry's diaper bag and handed them to Reid. "Henry should only need one bottle, but I brought extra just in case." He handed him a piece of paper with heating instructions for the bottles. "Now, make sure it's not too hot. And make sure you burp him."

Reid nodded resolutely as he concentrated on Will's instructions. He was going to be a good Godfather for Henry and that meant being an active part of his life.

&&&&&&

Will pulled away from the curb in front of Reid's building with a vague sense of unease that he was sure was purely the result of leaving Henry with a babysitter for the first time ever. He forced himself to drive away instead of rushing back inside to retrieve his child, he and JJ really needed to get out of the house. Dinner and a movie were just what they needed. Besides what could happen in five hours?

&&&&&&

Reid turned the television on low, he'd spent enough time at Will and JJ's house over the last six weeks to know that Henry slept best with a little background noise. He also turned on a small fan in the corner of the room - he wasn't a _fan_ of them himself, but a recent study had shown that have circulating air in the room reduced the risk of SIDS by seventy-two percent. It was a shame that no one had made the connection fifty years ago. He thought of the sheer number of infants who would be protected now by simply buying a ten-dollar fan. Maybe he would go into research if he ever left the BAU.

He looked down at the sleeping infant and somehow felt the crib looked bare, Intellectually he knew Henry was far too young to 'play,' but he still felt every little boy needs dinosaurs. After a few moments he gave up fighting against the urge and went to the box of baby toys in his room that had somehow started to accumulate since Henry had been born.

He looked through it carefully and made his selections:

At six weeks rattles were appropriate; Henry wasn't old enough to 'use' it himself, but shaking it near him would cause him to focus on it, which was good for his eyes and a precursor to the development of his hand-to-eye coordination, and the red/black/white color scheme was easy for baby eyes to distinguish and stimulated brain development.

Next he pulled out the prize he had found in Sacramento last week, a six-inch tall brontosaurus, it had blue velveteen fur, which would feel pleasant to Henry and be easy to keep clean since it was machine washable and dryable, which was important because the heat of the dryer would kill most germs.

He returned to the living room and placed the toys in the crib with Henry. Of course once he started to creep all stuffed animals would have to come out for a few months to avoid the risk of suffocation.

He settled in to watch a documentary on Socrates that he'd recorded last week for class.

&&&&&&

JJ walked in from her doctor's appointment to greet Will with a kiss and a smile. "Mmm, does this mean the doctor had good news?"

"It does." She wiggled suggestively against him, "And since Henry's sleeping through the night now, I think a little 'us' time is in order tonight."

"Sounds good, I -- I made plans," he moaned, "if you don't stop kissing my neck like that I'm never going to -- oh, do that again -- no, wait, I thought you needed to get out of the house, I made plans to surprise you."

"Oh, yeah, what are they?"

"I, uh, I got someone to baby-sit Henry so we could go to dinner and a movie. I wanted you to be able to relax."

JJ pulled back from where she was nibbling on Will's neck, "Henry's not here?"

"Nope."

"No dirty diapers?"

"Nope."

"No breastfeeding?"

"Nope."

"No crying and I can't figure out why?"

"Nope."

"Oh, heaven. How long?"

"We're supposed to pick him up at ten, that gives us about four and a half hours."

"Oh, God. To hell with dinner and a movie, race you upstairs."

&&&&&&

Reid jumped up when he heard Henry whimper as he started to wake up. He raced to the kitchen and placed one of the small glass bottles in the microwave. Little Henry was not patient when he woke up, Reid had watched JJ enough times to know the little boy would need his diaper changed as soon as he finished waking up, followed immediately by his bottle.

By the time the bottle had warmed, Reid could tell Henry was fully awake and definitely ready for a fresh diaper and his dinner. He put the nipple assembly on the bottle and placed the bottle on the coffee table in front of the couch. He prepared to change Henry's diaper.

"Hey, Henry, are you ready for a new diaper." He kept his voice soft, imitating JJ's tone and words. The baby's eyes opened and looked at Reid's face. "That's right, Henry, Uncle Spencer's going to get you out of that wet diaper and into a nice dry one." He kept up the quiet monologue, pleased to see the baby concentrating on his face. According to all the baby books he'd read, Henry was right on schedule.

Reid gently unsnapped the crotch and legs of the little blue outfit Will had brought him over in. He pushed the fabric out of the way and pulled the first tape tab off the diaper, then the second. He carefully lifted Henry's legs and slid the diaper out from underneath him and off to the side of the portacrib. He grabbed the fresh diaper and cursed heartily as a jet of warm liquid hit his face. He sputtered for a moment before reaching down and cupping his hand over Henry's penis to control the spray.

Fortunately the _shower_ only lasted a few seconds, but Reid was still left with a problem - now, the portacrib was all wet, where was he supposed to change Henry? He stripped Henry's wet clothing off him and - after wiping him off with a couple baby wipes - laid him on the couch to re-dress him. Fortunately Will had brought over several outfits. Unfortunately the baby wipes were cold and Little Henry was crying by the time Reid was finished.

Once the baby was clothed Reid stripped off his own wet shirt and picked him up. He held the baby against his bare shoulder and whispered soothingly as he sprinkled some milk on his wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot. It was still a little above room temperature so he sat down and started to shift the baby to feed him. He stopped when he realized he'd wind up rubbing Henry's head in the milk on his wrist.

He was about to get up and grab a baby wipe to clean his wrist off, but Henry started crying louder, heck it wouldn't kill him, he licked the milk off his wrist and shifted Henry to pop the bottle into the his mouth. He smiled as Henry gulped down the first half of his bottle, before slowing slightly. Reid pulled the bottle from his mouth and raised the boy back to his shoulder and began to pat gently.

He closed his eyes and groaned as Henry gave a large burp and he felt something warm, wet and sticky drip down his back. He quickly lowered the baby and put the bottle back in his mouth while wishing he could figure out some way to get his back clean while both hands were occupied feeding the baby. In the meantime he sat as straight as possible so he wouldn't accidentally touch the couch with his back.

Henry finished the bottle and Reid gently placed him over his clean shoulder and burped him again. It was harder to pat the baby's back with his fingers crossed, but luckily the rest of Henry's dinner stayed in his little tummy.

Reid wiped Little Henry's mouth and held him close. He waited a few moments to see if Henry was going to ask for more. When he was sure Henry seemed satisfied, he spread a blanket on the floor and laid him on his back so he could clean up. He started another running monologue with the baby as he pulled several baby wipes from the box and stretched around to clean up his back.

He was glad that he was flexible enough to reach with the baby wipes. He wrinkled his nose at the faint scent of barbecued chicken he kept imagining. For a moment he had even thought he could taste it. Maybe Mrs. Bellamy next door was making chicken for dinner. It was weird, he'd stopped by JJ's last night to bring Henry a new rattle and she'd been having barbecued chicken.

He stopped wiping at his shoulder and picked up Henry's bottle and took the nipple assembly off and sniffed. He chuckled as he looked at the baby, "Henry, do me a favor, never, ever, ever tell Mommy, that Uncle Spencer tasted your baba. She might not find it funny that I tasted her breast milk."

&&&&&&

"Will???"

"Yeah."

"Who's watching Henry?"

"Spencer."

"Reid? You left Henry with Reid?"

"Yeah, what's the matter?"

"Will, Reid has never been alone with a baby in his life."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Kids terrify him."

"But he's over here to see Henry all the time." He leaned up on his elbow, "Unless there's something you wanted to tell me about."

JJ slapped his arm playfully, "You nut. He's here to see Henry."

"Well, then what's the problem? He's taken a real shine to Henry, he knows what Henry needs, he practically begged me to let him watch Henry."

"But he -- I -- Reid --."

"Yes? Come on, I'm waiting for you to come up with some reason our baby wouldn't be safe with Reid."

"All right. He's safe."

"Then what is it?"

"I miss him."

AN: The SIDS study is real, a simple fan to circulate the bedroom air may reduce the risk by up to 72%, spread the word.


End file.
